WE KNOW THAT 16 OF THE 17 HOTTEST YEARS ON RECORD HAVE BEEN SINCE 2000.

WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE CURRENTLY WILDFIRES IN THE ARCTIC CIRCLE.

WE KNOW THEY’VE HAD TO INVENT NEW COLOURS FOR THE HEAT MAPS.

WE ALSO KNOW WE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. WE JUST HAVE TO ACT NOW.

Climate change is no one’s priority, until one day it is. It seems there are far more important things to worry about, until it affects you, your job, your home and your finances, even your health. But this summer reluctance to join the dots between the sweltering heat and the effects of climate change seemed to be changing.

The Economist warned,

“We are losing the war against climate change”.

Even The Sun’s front page declared

“The World’s on Fire”

Hothouse Earth was trending on Twitter, as was Earth Overshoot Day. Thankfully, conversations are moving away from whether climate change exists, to what it means for us and our planet. It is this conversation that will drive change. It’s our job, as rainforest ambassadors, to ensure that the role of trees in mitigating carbon emissions is recognised.

That role can’t be underestimated. Several pieces of research point to forests being a crucial part in the puzzle. Protecting, restoring, and better managing tropical forests could provide as much as half the net carbon emission reductions required to meet a 2-degree Celsius climate target.

Carbon-storing, climate moderating, rainforest is our best chance of keeping Earth cool. As if temperatures rise too high, the rainforest will turn on us, becoming a source of carbon rather than the mediating natural wonder that it is. We do have the tools – science, nature, technology, policy, conversation – to make a real difference.

Our best chance of keeping emissions locked in and mitigating carbon is rainforest.

Cool Earth’s work on the frontline of the fight against climate change is the best place to start. There’s never been a better time to support us.